WHY WE HAVE TO CHANGE THE WAY WE SHOP, NOW!
Having had a pop up store called The Sustainable Pop Up, on the Kings Road in Chelsea promoting Sustainable fashion, I realised that sustainable fashion does not have to be what I then feared; boring. Previously I found that natural materials always had this warning bell for dull colours, scratchy materials and overall a hippie stamp to it.. By researching for the store; I had the fortune to come across talented people embracing sustainable practices for fashion, and by that realising that those collections weren't at all dull or boring.
I met founder Silje from Valle & Vik that embraced silk and wanted to make it accessible as its natural benefits were much better than her competitors' polyester based fabrics. I met Teresa Carmona from Revive London, an vintage hunter that found the most amazing pieces that saw the possibilities in its holes and tears and hand embroidered the most beautiful things onto them. The newly started Try Kind Clothing that embraced ayurvedic dies for her underwear collection because of its many benefits for our largest organ: the skin. The list is long, the discoveries I made many and what amazed me by all these talents were that they all shared this huge passion to make a difference in fashion, which today is the 2nd biggest polluter in the world, and that is in a desperate need of a meaningful environmental solutions.
We live in a tumultuous world and even though the planet is on fire our news is filled by war and conflicts. Apparently in crises, we see a rise in retail. We call this the Retail Therapy, some might argue its a form of escapism but it is clinically proven that when you shop you get the Dopamine Effect. Dopamine is known as the “feel-good” hormone. It gives you a sense of pleasure. It also gives you the motivation to do something when you're feeling pleasure. Dopamine is part of your reward system. It increases your desire to continue to seek out things that make you feel good (hence retail therapy being a favourite go-to!)
The increase in retail due uncertainty (despite the recession around the corner) is why I think now is more than ever important that we change the way we shop. The most sustainable way to shop? Be naked. “Being naked is the #1 most sustainable option. We’re # 2.” That is the quote used by Reformation, a LA based brand trying to make things differently by showcasing their carbon footprint and embracing local production. Don't take me wrong, I love fashion, afterall I work at Vogue. I used to spend all my salary on fashion purchases, lunches were spent running from luxury brands sample sales to Zara, where I could get my hands on more accessible clothing to complete my urge for the perfect outfit for that perfect event. But then something changed.
I discovered trash, not that I hadn't seen it before but it dawned on me on the day I got a purse I had longed for and unpacked it. First the shopping bag, then the wrapping paper, then the box, inside wrapping paper, the bag inside a plastic bag with tags, inside the bag more wrapping paper. Once I had unwrapped it the bag appeared small compared to the mountain of waste next to it. That can't be right, I thought, surprised.
The next day at the supermarket, I discovered the same thing, tomatoes wrapped in cardboard boxes surrounded by plastic wrapping. The berries inside plastic boxes, the whole world seemed to be drowning in packaging! This lead me to not only discover Planet Organic that is embracing a less packaged mission but to search for those farmers markets instead of the convenient stores around my corner. This small personal revolution led to becoming a maniac about recycling and preaching for this trash revolution that needed to be happening. Luckily others are following pursuit and more brands are trying to minimise their packaging, using recycled papers and using other alternatives like Better Packaging Co that make biodegradable non plastic bags made of maze.
The best of it is that those brands aren’t like I feared earlier beige or itchy at all! They are fabulous! We see a huge ambition in the sustainable sector of fashion and this is where you; the buyers come in. No brand can survive without its customers, something that high- marketed brands sometimes forget - the most powerful person is you!
This is why we have gathered a small guide on how to shop differently as fashion can be used as a tool for change by making small changes to your everyday life, we can inspire someone else, and that is already a lot.
5 things to think about when you shop:
Who made this item?
Is it made by a factory worker that had a fair salary to pay for her or his family?Where is it made?
Did this garment travel far and by doing so have a big CO2 emission to reach me?What is it made of?
Is it natural materials? Are there any plastics in it? If you read polyester (if it's not recycled) put it back!Will I wear it many times?
Will this garment stay long in my wardrobe and therefore make sense in years to come?Does it come in a lot of packaging?
What is it made of? Are they recycled? Plastic free?